Youth + Social Change through Youth Forums

Placing youth voice at the center of social change, Youth Forums can provide an engaging, empowering way to develop consensus, discuss issues and build community among youth in a community. As a structured, purposeful event, Youth Forums are meant to give youth an opportunity to express their ideas, opinions, and needs to adults or other youth. Youth Forums can be youth-led or adult-led; because the purpose of Youth Forums is to engage youth voice, young people should be prepared to share it. Rather than all talking, multiple engagement styles should be used. Youth don’t need permission to share youth voice or change the world—Youth Forums just make it easier for them to do both.

Key Questions

Before you launch a Youth Forum, there are many roles to understand.

Organizational Roles

What is your objective for hasting a Youth Forum?

What resources is your organization willing to commit to your Youth Forum, including staff, financial resources and expertise?

What other organizations are willing or necessary to co-host this Youth Forum?

What will the follow-up to the Youth Forum be? How will youth continue to be engaged?

Youth Roles

How will youth be involved in planning and facilitating the Youth Forum?

What experience does your organization have facilitating Youth Forums?

Do you currently work with youth? Will you need to recruit youth to co-lead the Youth Forum?

Adult Roles

What are the roles of adults in planning and facilitating the Youth Forum?

Attendees

How will you ensure adults will not sit on the outside and look in, creating uncomfortable fishbowls?

How many people do you want to attend? Number of youth? Adults?

How will you recruit and support diverse youth attendance? Where will these youth come from, including geographic areas, different races and gender identities, socio-economic levels, educational attainment and varying leadership tendencies?

Format

Who will develop the agenda?

What will the length of the Youth Forum be?

What is the format for the learning opportunities at the Youth Forum?

What role will adults play at the Youth Forum? How will they differ from the roles of youth?

Related

By Adam Fletcher

Adam is a co-founder and longtime leader of Freechild. He has spoke at conferences, written publications, taught people, and consulted organizations about youth voice, youth engagement, youth-led social change, youth/adult partnerships and more. Learn more about him at adamfletcher.net.

Our Mission

The Freechild Institute promotes youth + social change, especially among traditionally disconnected young people. We learn, share, grow and support youth + social change through projects, training and research around the world.